Skip to main content
  • Percutaneous Coronary Intervention of Chronic Total Occlusions: When and How to Treat

    Highlights

    • CTOs have a detrimental effect on patients' quality of life and long-term prognosis.
    • Patient selection for CTO PCI should be focused on anticipated clinical benefit.
    • Indication for CTO PCI depends on the presence of symptoms, ischemia and viability.
    • The hybrid approach has led to technical success rates over 90% in CTO PCI.
    • The hybrid approach has led to acceptable complication rates in complex CTO PCI.

    Abstract

    Chronic coronary total occlusions (CTO) are diagnosed in up to 20% of patients with coronary artery disease and have a detrimental effect on patients' quality of life and long-term prognosis. The exponential developments in CTO percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) equipment, recanalization techniques, and operator expertise have been merged into the hybrid approach that represents a percutaneous revascularization algorithm for treating CTOs and has led to technical success over 90% at experienced centers. Therefore, patient selection for CTO PCI should be focused on anticipated patient benefit in terms of health status and long-term prognosis rather than coronary anatomic complexity.

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Review our Privacy Policy for more details